Columbia Law School marked the official opening of Lenfest Hall, the much-anticipated residence hall named for H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest '58 and his wife Marguerite, October 2, 2003 with a ribbon cutting ceremony and reception. The ceremony was held at Lenfest Hall on 121st Street between Amsterdam Avenue and Morningside Drive and included remarks from Gerry Lenfest and Columbia Law School Dean David Leebron.
The student residence, which welcomed its first occupants in August, contains 209 student apartments, including private studios ranging in size from 320 to 412 square feet, and one-bedroom apartments ranging from 380 to 648 square feet, all fully furnished with private bathrooms and kitchens.
The building offers a range of amenities, including study rooms and, eventually, a rear bamboo garden, as well as a recreation room with a pool table and other activities. Some apartments include terraces and many offer spectacular views of Morningside Park and historic Riverside Church. There are also two apartments for visiting faculty.
To date, the response from Lenfest Hall's new residents has been overwhelmingly positive. According to Ross Fieldston, a second year law student who recently transferred to Columbia, "Living so close to campus, in such a nice building, has certainly made my transition an easy and enjoyable one."
PLANS ARE FINALIZED FOR LARGE-SCALE HOBOKEN RESIDENTIAL COMPLEX WITH FIRST NEW SIGNIFICANT AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN RECENT TIMES
Gruzen Samton is finalizing a comprehensive master plan for Adams Street Development in Hoboken, NJ. The project is a joint venture of publicly owned Tarragon Realty Investors, Inc. (NMM: TARR), Ursa Development Group and Frank Raia. The $50 million development, which is known as 1100 & 1118 Adams Street, is located on Block 104 in the Northwest Redevelopment Zone in Hoboken.
The imaginative architectural concept for the development consists of two side-by-side buildings, each targeted to a distinctly different target market, but designed in a deliberately harmonious and seamless fashion: 1100 Adams Street, which will contain 76 luxury, for-sale condominium units, and 1118 Adams Street, which will contain 90 affordable, for-rent units, developed with assistance from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, the Hudson County Consortium, and the Department of Community Development of the City of Hoboken. Each is planned with five residential levels over a ground floor parking garage, and each will have an internal courtyard, but the buildings will stand as separate structures. 1118 Adams will comprise two separate five-story buildings over a shared garage, each with its own entrance (one on Adams Street and one on Jefferson Street). 1100 Adams will have a single entrance and will feature a mixture of one bedroom/ one bath and two bedroom/ two bath units. 1118 Adams will feature a mixture of two-bedroom/ two bath and three bedroom/ two bath units.
The design for the affordable rentals is targeted specifically to low- and moderate-income families with children and will feature a "tot lot". Residents will be offered a number of amenities that are atypical for affordable housing: washer/dryer hookups as a standard feature, a laundry room in the building, central HVAC, 9-foot ceilings, walk-in closets, large bay windows and, in select units, balconies.
Apartment homeowners at 1100 Adams will be offered such amenities as a health club, hardwood floors, granite and marble countertops, 9-foot ceilings, central HVAC, high-speed internet, walk-in closets, soaking tubs, a washer/dryer in each unit, and, in select units, balconies, bay windows and fireplaces.
KINGSBOROUGH COMMUNITY COLLEGE ACADEMIC VILLAGE, DESIGNED BY GRUZEN SAMTON, OPENED AT DEDICATION CEREMONY
Senator Charles Schumer joined officials from Kingsborough Community College, the City University of NY, and the Dormitory Authority of NYS to dedicate the new Academic Village. The Academic Village is the first building to be built under a master plan prepared for the Kingsborough Community College Campus by the noted educational architectural firm, Gruzen Samton, in association with Davis Brody Bond. The building provides 26,000 square feet of space and is located prominently near the main entrance to the campus. Development of the site includes modifications to the campus' main entrance from Oriental Boulevard and the redesign of the secondary northern entrance on Shore Boulevard, along with 200 new parking spaces.
The Academic Village is a totally new structure, replacing existing row houses that were part of a Coast Guard facility that occupied the site before it was given to CUNY in the 1960's. The new building is integrated into the campus visually as well as functionally. A pedestrian bridge links the Academic Village to the existing campus concourse. The building provides classrooms, faculty offices, an early childhood day care teaching center and a multi media conference room. Classrooms are designed both in conventional configurations and as tiered lecture rooms.
The new facility also provides space for community-related programs such as "College Now" for high school students, "Continuing Education" for older adults. Taking advantage of its position at the gateway to the campus, it also accommodates offices for the local community board.
Site work included in the scope of work comprised roadways, sidewalks, parking for 200 cars, lighting, and landscaping. A new security booth and gate are provided at the new Shore Road campus entrance. Additionally, the existing entry zone at Oriental Boulevard received new site paving, lighting and landscaping to improve pedestrian access to and from the campus. A tree lined pedestrian walkway from Oriental to Shore Boulevard will encourage outdoor circulation to this new area of the campus and enhance views from the campus to Sheepshead Bay.
The entrance to the building features a two-story glass lobby displaying artwork from the college collection. Exterior materials were selected from the palette used on the adjacent buildings to unify the structures visually.
